Custom Therapeutic Horse Stocks

Equine

Two versions of stocks were built with a quantity of six and three additional orders on the way. 

• To build horse stall with welds ground smooth, pins to be free to remove easily to open stock. 
• Stability of the stall to withhold extreme tension from horses.

Quality requirements

• touching each surface for flaws or sharp edges that could be a potential hazard to the animals.
• the owner went on a ladder and bent over stocks to pad the top bars. When looking down, she reviewed for any holes or inconsistencies that could be a potential rusting zone.
• all of the locks needed to be able to go in smoothly with heavy use.
• a structure had to be manufactured to hold the weight while having door openings on all sides.

Equigym's equine stocks are a safe and convenient way to contain a horse while therapy is administered, wounds are treated, IV's are administered, mares are palpated, cleaning and dressing wounds, massaging, nebulizing, whirlpools are used, etc.

• Portable Stocks: are useful in locations that cannot be permanent. The horse stand on the floor, which is lowered to the ground when in use. When not in use, the stocks can be jacked up onto the double wheels in each corner and easily pushed to another location. The Portable Stocks will open on any end, from each side and both, side rails can be flipped for shorter horses or lowered out of the way for therapy, diagnostics. They also can be completely removed for ultrasounds, MRI’s, x-rays or any other medical procedure.
• Standard Stocks: are built with floor anchor bars mounted to the front and between mounted to the rear legs. The stocks can also be built so that each leg is concreted into the ground. EquiGym can design custom stocks for most needs.

Structural design and manufacturing

• Our designer worked to review prints, and translated them to ensure that all of the different requirements were broken down 
• The top of the structure held the weight of the remaining pieces. 
• Large nubs were included at the bottom of the legs so there was more surface contact with the concrete to hold the stocks down. The strength was in the tubing, cross members and the welded joints because the rest contained swinging doors.  

 

Welding

• When each tube was welded together along with the pins that went into the locks; the structure would slightly shift because of the heat going into the tube. 
• Through trial and error; one the locks had to be taken off, grinded down and re-welded during the experimentation phase when the rest of the structure shifted from the welding of the tubes. The head welder had to find a balance in TIG welding to allow for cooling of the heat of a weld since the heat would transfer through the piping. 

• All of the bent tubes required heavy grinding in order for smooth surface so a horse wouldn’t be injured by sharp edges.
• There were several gates on the front, back and sides for easy access to the horse. 
• Came up with a unique process to bend the pins so that we had as tight of a radius as possible, as well as a unique process to mill the pins after bending to ensure frictionless function when removing.

1. Confirm Scope
2. “Go & See” Daily Application
3. 3D Model
4. Confirm Designs
5. Manufacture Prints
6. Saw Cut
7. Weld
8. Machine
9. Grind
10. Assemble

Prototype

"In the past when I've received my steel Portable Stocks from my fabrication shops and are assembling them before shipping, I will have to do work on the powder coated steel in order to make the bars and doors open and close easily, from either end or side.  Quite often, the stainless steel pins will not go down into the closures without a hammer pounding them into place, the welds are uneven and rough and they sometimes have had holes blown through them.

 

When I received my latest Portable Stocks  fabricated by Valence Industrial, every door and all the bars opened and closed easily, without a hammer or any other adjustment or grinding. All the welds, including the difficult ones around the three-inch round posts and the ones on each door inset, were perfect "worms" and made the whole system look more like  an "art project."  I am ever so grateful for the expertise, attention to detail and great pride that their head welder, Ed, is capable of.  

 

Thank you Valence Industrial for providing the quality and attention to detail for my EquiGym products and for my clients."

- Leonie Seesing

Owner/Operator

EquiGym, LLC